


The Elder Tree

by lightmusicclubP



Category: Ensemble Stars
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Fantasy, M/M, Mutual Pining, ReiKoga - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 15:29:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20084500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lightmusicclubP/pseuds/lightmusicclubP
Summary: Life had never been easy. In fact, life itself has never intended to be something that is “easy.” Yet for Koga, life seems insufferable. After his high school mentor and role model seemingly vanished into thin air, he spent countless sleepless nights just wondering what possibly he could have done differently in order to prevent it.Now, three years later, Koga would finally receive answers.Upon waking up nestled amongst the roots of a grand Elder tree stowed deep in the forest, Koga quickly realizes that something… had changed. It was only after following the sound of a vaguely familiar melody that Koga realized just how different things were.





	1. Chapter 1

How long had it been now? Koga had lost track of the days as they rapidly turned into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. His high school graduation had come and gone — an experience that most people treasure as the start of their adult lives, yet he couldn’t help but to feel the crushing weight of his own loneliness as he scrambled through the ceremony, desperately searching the crowd in hopes of catching a glimpse of those blood-red eyes or his midnight black hair.  
From that point on Koga knew it was worthless to keep on the search for him. His mentor, the person he looked up to the most out of anyone else in his life at the time, had left him abandoned and alone at one of the most important times of his life. Koga shudders at the memory; it was one that had been etched into his mind and burned like flaming coals every time it was sparked. It had been three years now since Rei had vanished — gone as if he had walked off of the face of the Earth and no one had even remembered he existed.  
But Koga did.  
In fact, every single day that passed was plagued with memories of the bastard that would constantly play like some sort of deranged movie in the back of his mind. Every single thing that brought Koga joy, or at least used to, reminded himself of Rei. The guitar he cherished more than anything now sat in his closet gathering dust because the mere sight of it would cause Koga to break down into a fit of hysterical sobbing.  
Koga had never been able to fully grasp the reality of what had happened. One day things were perfect. The unit was preparing for a live, the light music club was active and practicing constantly — everything in his school life was in perfect harmony. Then Koga began noticing the abnormalities in Rei’s behavior. At first it was small things like dazing in and out of conversations, almost as if Rei were distracted by something. Koga always brushed it off and excused it as part of Rei’s spacey old man mindset.  
From there, things began to escalate at a rather frequent pace. Rei would pace the light music club room, anxiously tousling his hair and checking the clock every chance he got. It almost seemed as though he was expecting something to happen at any moment, but didn’t know exactly when. Koga still beats himself up for not swallowing his pride and asking what was going on with the fucker. Oftentimes he lays in bed, contemplating if things would’ve turned out differently if he had done so. Maybe he could’ve convinced him to stay.  
Worthless.  
_ Worthless!___  
He felt utterly worthless. Maybe, just maybe, he could’ve protected the one person who held emotional significance to him yet he didn’t even try.  
Now, three years to the date of the last time Rei was seen, Koga lays in his bed aimlessly staring at the ceiling. He knew sleep was impossible and that it wasn’t even worth it to try due to the nightmares that would terrorize him the second he closed his eyes. He steals a glance at the digital clock on his bedside table — 2:46am.  
_The city would be quiet now, maybe it’d be nice to clear my head..._ Koga thinks silently to himself, pushing the guilt to the back of his mind for a few seconds before being overwhelmed by the thoughts of how Rei could be sleeping next to him if he would’ve just stepped up and asked Rei what was going on. Koga scoffs to himself, throwing on a lightweight jacket and a pair of beaten up boots, wondering who he thought he was, thinking about bullshit like that. Despite how much he tried to hide or deny his emotions, he had to admit there was something comforting about the idea of laying next to someone he admired and basking in the comfort of silence rather than listening to the degrading internal dialogue constantly streaming in his mind.  
Koga heads for the door, contemplating grabbing a pair of earbuds to listen to music but quickly changes his mind. Nowadays music only caused more pain due to the memories associated with the light music club and the old unit.  
It’d been a few years since he had spoken to or had contact with either of the groups. He locks the door behind him, pondering the idea of maybe trying to get in touch with them again. He shakes his head, attempting to clear the thought out of it.__ _Dumbass.___ He honestly felt like he was just trying to hurt himself at this point.  
He steps onto the paved sidewalk and inhales deeply. He smells all of the usual scents — the stench of gasoline from the few cars that drove by, the fresh produce from the market down the street, and the smell of trees and wildlife from the dense forest behind the apartment building. But on top of it all, he smelt something… new. It was sweet, melancholic, and almost… nostalgic in a way. _ I’ll follow that one, _ Koga decides to himself as a form of reassurance. He gives another inhale and begins walking towards the scent, following it to the edge of the forest. He stops briefly before entering the the lush undergrowth.__  
_ This is how people die you dumbass… what are you thinking going into the forest at nearly 3am, _ Koga thinks to himself but then starts to chuckle. __ _It’s not like I have anything else left to live for anyways.___  
He inhales again, the aroma growing stronger with each hurried step. Koga walks faster and faster until he’s jogging. The jog turns into a sprint, the sprint into a full blown run. Trees blur past, their branches whipping Koga’s jacket and pants. The pain didn’t phase him; in fact it only added to the adrenaline. This. _ This _ was the first time Koga had felt alive in years.__  
Running, his heart pounding out of his chest and his lungs feeling as though they were going to burst, Koga smiles.  
“Woohoo!!” he screams into the night, stopping to catch his breath. He smiles again, the aroma overwhelming his senses now. He leans against a humongous tree, its roots easily the size of his torso. His arms rest against the rough bark, his hands tracing the delicate patterns in the bark as he tries to catch his breath. His heart rate had begun to slow now, causing him to become aware of the actuality of the situation at hand. At this point Koga was completely lost in the woods after chasing a scent with no plausible cause. However, exhaustion had begun to creep into his bones. It wasn’t fatigue from the run, it was something… different. It was the kind of exhaustion he would get after a long rehearsal with UNDEAD or the kind that would follow a light music club meeting — the exhaustion that came after prolonged periods of… happiness.  
Koga takes another inhale and allows the warmth of his own emotions to spread throughout his veins as if it were some kind of drug. There, supported by the roots of the tree and wrapped in the warmth and tenderness of that nostalgic fragrance, Koga lulls himself to sleep.  
* * *  
Koga awoke with a start, soft sunlight dappling the ground around him. He takes a moment to survey his surroundings, trying to recall everything that had happened the previous night. Rather than focusing on how he had fallen asleep in the forest in the dead middle of nowhere, Koga was shocked to come to the realization that he hadn’t had a single nightmare while sleeping. In fact, Koga didn’t remember dreaming at all. He made a mental note of this and pondered it for a bit. Today marks the three year anniversary of the last time he had seen Rei... maybe he had finally began to move on.  
Koga touches the bark of the great tree, recalling the final moments he spent with Rei as if they had happened yesterday. If he had known that would be the last time he would see Rei he definitely would’ve done something different — let him know how much Koga looked up to him and even ... cherished him.  
Koga shakes his head to clear it, his cheeks tinted a light pink after thinking about his rather complicated relationship with that bastard.  
He begins to rise to his feet, expecting his entire body to ache from sleeping on the forest floor all night. Instead, Koga is pleasantly surprised when he felt energized and refreshed instead. He shakes out his limbs, stretching them to fully wake them up and begins walking in a direction that seemed vaguely familiar. At this point he couldn’t tell for sure if he was heading home the right way as things looked vastly different during the day than they did at night. He takes a deep inhale to try and gain any scent that vaguely resembled home but fails to pick up on anything familiar; the earthy aroma of the forest was far too potent to distinguish anything else. Even the comforting and wistful scent from the previous night had dissipated completely.  
Koga treads quietly, admiring the serenity of the forest alongside the silence of his own thoughts. He focuses so intently on the silence that when he initially heard that somber melody echoing quietly through the trees he was convinced that it was just something he was imagining within the boundaries of his own mind. Yet as he walked deeper into the undergrowth he suddenly realized that he wasn’t alone. The voice was growing closer with every step that Koga took. It was solemn, earnest and even though Koga couldn’t make out the words he could tell that whoever it was that was singing had suffered some sort of tragedy.  
His interest piqued, he lightened the pacing of his footsteps and crept toward the singing, careful not to step on any twigs or dry foliage. He was getting close to the origin now, his heart pounding and nearly covering up the sound of the voice altogether. He stops moving for a few moments to focus in and listen. He focuses his attention on the voice and then-  
No.  
_ No. ___  
Koga drops to his knees, his stomach twisting into knots.  
_There’s no way. It’s not possible.___  
Koga reaches for the support of a nearby tree and pulls himself off of the ground. He covers his mouth, his body overwhelmed with an intense nauseated feeling.  
_It can’t be him.___  
The singing had stopped now, yet Koga couldn’t get the melody out of his head. He needed to see him... just to be sure that it was him and not some twisted prank his mind was playing on him.  
His legs still shaking, Koga holds onto the trees for continued support as he stumbles through the forest not bothering to monitor how much noise he was making. His footsteps continue to falter, tears brimming his eyes and stinging his cheeks as they roll down his face.  
_ Over here. Somewhere. Please...___  
Koga forces himself through a seemingly thick wall of foliage and falls to the ground within a small clearing, his vision blurry with tears.  
_ It couldn’t possibly be him... not after all of these years...___  
Koga remains on the ground with his face hidden in his arms, crying softly to himself.  
_ Please... by some miracle... let it be him... ___  
Never in a million years would Koga imagine he would feel so emotionally exposed yet right now, not a single thing in the world mattered. His tears were falling heavily now, his emotions overwhelmed by the mere thought of seeing Rei again. Koga had become so absorbed by his crying that he had failed to notice the gentle footsteps that approached him. His voice rang as clear as a bell across the clearing.  
“Wanko?”  
Koga’s entire being halts, his body blazing with electricity from the stupid nickname he had come to love yet hadn’t heard in years.  
Three years, to be exact.  
Koga raises his head slowly, the sunlight suddenly seeming the brightest it has ever been. He wipes his eyes to clear the tears and begins to stand warily, his judgement still heavily in denial. The second he lands a solid stance on the ground his body becomes consumed by warmth. Without giving a chance to survey his surroundings nor finish wiping the tears from his eyes, Koga is caught in the sudden embrace.  
“Oi- who the- get the FUCK off of me!!” Koga shouts, baring his teeth at the offender.  
At that exact moment the nostalgic fragrance he had smelt the prior night flooded his nostrils. He stops fighting against the embrace and instead accepts it, wrapping his arms around the waist of the assailant and beginning to cry once again.  
“S-Sakuma-senpai...” he stammers weakly, his voice overwhelmed with emotion. He hadn’t even had a chance to look at him but it didn’t matter. He was here. Koga’s quiet sniffles quickly turned into loud, wailing sobs against Rei’s shoulder.  
“Now, now Wanko. We don’t have much time.” Rei whispers to him, slowly releasing him from his grasp.  
Koga wipes his eyes again and allows himself to finally look at Rei. He gasps quietly to himself and takes a step away from Rei, pressing his back against the wall of foliage.  
His hair was slightly longer now, tied back in a low ponytail that almost reached his shoulder blades. However that wasn’t what threw Koga off about his appearance; it was the elf-like pointed ears that peaked through his raven colored hair.  
“W-what the fuck happened to you?” Koga stammers unable to avert his eyes from the differences in Rei’s appearance.  
He wore a dark teal hakama, the flowy material dotted with a soft floral pattern. Rei looks at the sky and shakes his head quickly, “Wanko I’ll explain later I promise, but right now you need to come with me.” With each word out of his mouth Koga noticed the two honed fangs which were noticeably sharper than before.  
Rei reaches for Koga’s arm and begins to pull him along the clearing.  
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing!?” Koga shouts at him, yanking his arm free of his grasp. He tried to ignore the electricity he felt from the physical contact with him. “I haven’t seen you in three fucking years yet you’re going to act as if nothing ever happened?!” Koga says, his excitement quickly turning to anger.  
Rei looks quickly at the sky; long shadows had begun to appear across the clearing now signaling the slowly sinking sun.  
“Wanko please-“  
“No! You fuckin left me abandoned again! _ Again! _ Having you leave the first time was already hard enough and then you go and do it again with no warning?” Koga says, his temper starting to reach its peak, “And now I finally found you after looking for three years and you look bat shit crazy with your dumb elf ears and pointy teeth! You’re not the bastard I knew — you’re not the person I was in l-“ Koga stops himself before he could finish the sentence. Tears were welling up in his eyes again but this time they were out of anger instead of joy.__  
Rei’s emotions were unreadable, his face set solid as stone. Koga studies Rei’s face as the tears continue to build.  
His voice was quiet now, not the screaming forte it was a few seconds ago, “It was so hard... I had no one.” He gives a quiet sniff and looks to the ground, silently wiping a tear off of his cheek.  
“Koga.” Rei says sternly.  
The use of his name sent chills down his spine. He looks up slowly and makes eye contact with Rei, his eyes glowing a dim red now that darkness had begun to set in.  
“I know I hurt you and I promise I can explain. There’s just not enough time left now.” Rei glances at the sun that by now had almost sunken below the horizon.  
“What do you mean?” Koga scoffs.  
“Listen to me carefully. In a few seconds you’re going to wake up and I’ll be gone again. Please. _ Please, _ come back to visit me tomorrow and I swear I’ll be able to explain more.” Rei takes ahold of Koga’s hands, grasping them tightly as he spoke.__  
“What do you mean I’m gonna wake up-“  
“The tree — it’s a bridge between your world and my world. It’s the only way you’ll be able to see me again. Please come back tomorrow night.” Rei pleads, his figure slowly beginning to disappear as the world around them grew darker.  
“Wait!” Koga shouts as Rei’s figure begins to dissipate right before his eyes. Before he could ask any other questions his eyes jolted open. Once again Koga awoke nestled amongst the roots of the sacred tree — the bridge between him and what he had been searching for all of these years.


	2. Chapter 2

Koga’s head was spinning at what felt like a million miles an hour. He was unable to fully comprehend the situation at stake; it had felt like some sort of fever dream.  
_Was it just that? A dream?___  
He gives his jacket a sniff and shudders when he instantly picks up the pungent scent of that damn vampire bastard.  
_So it’s real then? But it genuinely felt like a dream...___  
Koga stands and brushes the dirt and debris off of his backside. He now felt the consequences of sleeping on the forest floor all night as his entire body ached and he could barely stand without the support of the tree.  
_That fucking tree.___  
“So you’re the gatekeeper huh?” Koga scoffs, eyeballing the tree.  
He had to admit that it was rather marvelous in the daylight. The patterns Koga had traced with his fingers the previous night were not natural at all. Looking closely he noticed that they appeared to be carved into the bark with acute precision. The lines were thicker at the base and narrowed as they reached a higher altitude on the tree. A few of the lines even branched off into neat swirls, forming complicated patterns within the thick outer layer of bark. Those patterns were something that one could easily get lost in. After all, their artistry caused a near hypnotic effect.  
Koga reaches out his hand and places his palm against the tree.  
“Are you there, Sakuma-senpai?” He whispers, his cheeks becoming red with embarrassment as he realized how idiotic he must look talking to a tree in the middle of nowhere.  
He removes his hand from the tree and runs it through his rather nappy hair, pulling a few small twigs out of it in the process.  
Koga glances at the tree one last time and sighs, “Guess I’ll see you tonight.”  
He wasn’t sure whether or not he was referring to the tree or to Rei but at this point he was ready to find his way home and settle out his thoughts.  
He inhales the fresh air and smiles gratefully to himself when he is able to pick up on his own scent from the previous night. He begins walking, following his own smell back through the woods until he regains consciousness of the familiar aromas he associates with his apartment.  
From there the rest of his travel was easy. The area was rather familiar from when Koga used to walk Leon, his dog who had passed away roughly a year after Rei had disappeared. Koga grips the edge of his sleeve, squeezing hard until his knuckles turned a pale white. Koga couldn’t bear to think about Leon now. He still hadn’t gotten over his passing and the fact that the last 24 hours quite literally turned his life upside down was not helping in the slightest.  
Koga enters his apartment, takes off his shoes, and gives a heavy sigh as he throws himself onto his bed. His mind was still racing with a countless number of thoughts.  
_Was it actually real?_  
_It had to be! There’s no way it couldn’t.___  
_But it coulda been a dream, the bastard himself even told me I would wake up._  
_But that fuckin’ tree and his damn scent still on my clothes... I can’t explain that...___  
Koga closes his eyes, placing a hand on his forehead and trying desperately to enhance his senses and bask in the comforting yet quickly fading scent.  
_I can’t keep this shit to myself. I need to tell someone.___  
Koga was never the type to openly share his feelings yet this... was different. His thoughts kept nagging him and pushing him. He needed to make sure he wasn’t going entirely insane.  
_I could call Adonis or Hakaze-senpai but they’re probably busy... it wouldn’t be worth it to try and call them last minute ‘specially since we didn’t leave on the best of terms. However...___  
Koga stops to think for a moment,  
_Those damn twins. I’ll call them._  
Koga still felt guilty for not attending their graduation. In fact, it made him realize what a full blown hypocrite he was. Koga to this day, still hadn’t forgiven Rei for missing his graduation. Yet when it came time to see the twins graduate Koga still flaked on them and didn’t attend the ceremony.  
_Maybe I can make it up to them... _ He thought silently to himself, trying to ignore the sensation of guilt creeping back into his thoughts.__  
_Oh what the hell, might as well give it a shot._  
He picks up his phone from the bedside table where it had sat all night and selects Yuuta’s name from his contact list. He hesitates slightly before pressing the call button but nevertheless manages to do so. The phone rings three times before Koga is greeted with an uncertain “H-hello?”  
Upon hearing his voice, Koga instantly regrets his decision to call. “Uh, umm, hey-er hello...” he stutters awkwardly, his mind too distracted to find the right words.  
“It’s not like you to stutter like that Oogami-senpai — unless things have changed in the, let’s see... two? Two years we haven’t had any contact with you.” His tone was hostile and chilled Koga to the bone. He had never heard either of the twins speak with such hateful and ice cold tonality.  
Koga wasn’t exactly sure which twin he was talking to but since he had called Yuuta’s number he trusted his gut and went with it, “Listen Yuuta-“  
He’s cut off by an excitable voice from the background of the other line, “Yuuta-kun!! Did you say Oogami-senpai?! I told you he’d call eventually!” Koga could imagine the smile on Hinata’s face as plain as day purely through the sound of joy in his voice.  
“Don’t worry about it Aniki, I’m sure he’s just drunk or some shit and only called because he needs something.” Yuuta says shortly, his words stinging like snowflakes on bare skin.  
“I can hear ya you know.” Koga scoffs, contemplating whether he should just hang up or not.  
“Yuuta-kun if you’re not gonna listen to what he has to say then let me talk to him. It’ll be easier on the both of us, I promise.” Hinata says, his voice dropping in volume. Koga could detect a solemn undertone to his speech. Upon noticing the change in tone Koga instantly drowned in a wave of his own lack of accountability.  
The end of the line is silent for a moment before Yuuta utters a barely audible, “Fine.”  
Movement sounds from the speaker, followed by an upbeat “Oogami-senpai!!”  
“H-hey Hinata.” Koga stutters, still unable to protect his voice from the anxiety coursing throughout his veins, “I need to talk to you and your brother about somethin’ but it’s... not really somethin’ that should be talked about over a phone call.”  
Koga found it amusing how he naturally returned to the dialect he primarily used in high school while talking to the twins. Although his current speech patterns were similar to those in the past, over the last three years he had attempted to separate himself from them as a way to disconnect himself from Rei.  
“Oh~ a secret then? Hehe, I knew you would never give up on us Oogami-senpai!” Hinata says. There was no sign of sadness in his voice anymore but for some reason that line made Koga’s heart sink.  
Yuuta’s voice resonates from the background of the line, “At least ask him what it’s about. If it’s not that important we shouldn’t go.”  
At this point Koga realizes he’s on speaker and that both of them could hear what he was saying.  
“It’s about Saku- that damn vampire bastard.” Koga says, catching himself before saying Rei’s name.  
“Sakuma-senpai?!” The twins say in unison.  
“I-I don’t know much yet but... I think I know where he is... I want to meet up with the two of ya and talk about it. I feel like I owe it to the both of ya.” Koga says, his own openness making him slightly uncomfortable.  
“Where do you want to meet up?” Hinata asks as soon as Koga had finished talking.  
Yuuta immediately interjects with his opposition, “Hey! What about, I don’t know, asking me too? Did you just happen to forget that this is the same guy who hasn’t even tried to contact us the second after he left Yumenosaki?! How do you know he’s not trying to pull something? Besides, Sakuma-senpai disappeared three years ago. Why would he come back now?”  
Hinata’s voice sparks with pure, wretched emotion, a stark contrast to the happy and carefree tone from earlier, “I don’t care if it might be a sick twisted joke or something! If there’s any chance of finding out if Sakuma-senpai is okay then I need to take it. I don’t care if you come with me but I need to at least do this for myself.” Hinata fires back. Koga could feel the passion radiating off of him just through the power in his voice.  
Koga remains silent knowing that anything he said wouldn’t be valid enough to input into the small argument the two were having.  
Hinata sighs, “Yuuta-kun, we can talk about this later. I’m sorry you had to hear that Oogami-senpai. I’ll meet you at Tetsu-kun’s dojo in thirty minutes. I don’t know if Yuuta-kun will be willing to grace us with his presence though~.” Hinata says with that playful spark back in his voice. He quickly hangs up before Koga could say anything or hear Yuuta’s response.  
_Nagumo has his own dojo now?_  
It wasn’t surprising, however it brought the reality of how much Koga had shut the world out these last few years of his life. Koga searches Tetora’s name on the internet and sure enough, the address to the dojo was the first result to be displayed on the search engine.  
Koga places his phone in his pocket and puts his boots back on.  
_It’s a 40 minute walk, hopefully I won’t keep Hinata waiting too long._  
With that, Koga leaves his apartment and briskly begins walking across town in hopes of not making Hinata anticipate his arrival. Taking in the sights of the town, Koga noticed how... dull everything seemed now compared to Rei’s world. It were almost as if there had been a damper placed over everything. The trees didn’t seem as green, the sky wasn’t as blue, there were no birds singing, no loud yet happy chattering amongst other people on the sidewalks... Everything had seemed like it had changed yet Koga knew it was all exactly the same as before.  
_Now that I’ve had a taste of life with him in it once again, normal life just doesn’t cut it anymore, huh._ Koga thinks to himself. He felt his emotions beginning to sink lower and lower the more he thought about Rei. Koga had no idea how he would survive by only being with him while he was asleep; he knew it would only make the days without him seem drawn out and miserable.__  
Koga relays a heavy sigh and increases his walking speed slightly. He tries his hardest to ignore how bleak the world appeared as he quickly approached his destination. The building itself wasn’t too big, yet it appeared to be two stories tall.  
_ Tetora probably lives here as well as teaches his classes_. Koga thinks to himself, contemplating on whether or not he should knock or just walk in. He gives a small tap on the door and startles himself when it creeps forward a few centimeters. Slightly taken aback, he gives himself a moment to recollect his thoughts. It wasn’t like him to get so... nervous. Even when performing for hundreds of people with UNDEAD he never felt any form of anxiety or pressure. However, now that he had to talk to someone he had spoken to nearly every day for two years, he could barely bring himself to walk through the door.__  
Reluctantly, he pushes on the door until it was wide enough for him slide through the opening. Upon reaching a certain width, the crystalline sound of a small bell rings out from just above the door causing Koga to jump slightly. Standing just inside the doorway, Koga takes a moment to adjust to the setting around him.  
The room itself wasn’t big nor small. A large blue mat covered the floor where Koga assumed Tetora held his lessons. There was a large mirror running along the leftmost side of the wall that gently reflected the calming aura the room resonated.  
Koga quickly snaps out of the miniature trance he had fallen into and unlaces his boots, placing them next to the door in the area designated for shoes. He takes a few steps until his feet land on the supportive, yet dense mat. He teeters his weight between his heels and the balls of his feet, a sign that his anxiety was beginning to take a physical toll on him.  
_Where the fuck is he? Where is anyone?!_  
Koga had begun pacing around at this point, his anxiety building up with every inpatient second that passed. As far as he could remember, Koga hadn’t dealt with this type of emotion before. The overwhelming sense of dread and unknowingness of what would happen with each second was slowly eating away at him.  
Koga had no concept of how much time had passed — it could’ve been minutes, but it felt like hours. By the time the small bell atop the door chimed Koga was so enveloped in his own bounty of thoughts that the piercingly luminous sound brought all of his agitated emotions to a screeching halt.  
“Oogami-senpai!!” The voice was crystal clear and filled with multiple layers of emotion ranging from longing to sheer joy.  
Koga briskly turns towards the door just in time to see the flash of a bright pink jacket and fiery orange hair. Before Koga is able to gain a grasp on the situation, Hinata aggressively hugs Koga the same way Rei had done the night before. Koga’s mind flashes with visions of Rei from the previous night — his pointed ears, the keen fangs, the comforting aroma that resonated with the memory of him, the feeling of his arms wrapped tightly around him; Koga regretted not absorbing every detail of the moment.  
His sentiments coming to a peak, he forcefully pushes the young male off of him.  
“Get the fuck off of me!” his voice crackled and shattered with raw emotion.  
Koga heard another voice shouting to Hinata but he paid no mind to it. It wasn’t important right now. Nothing else was important right now. Koga regretted his decision to come here and wished he would’ve found some way to just stay with Rei in that fucked up alternate universe.  
Koga’s eyes well up with tears and he falls to his knees, the cushioned flooring lightening the impact. Once again he buries his face in his hands to hide from the shame of crying.  
Koga’s chest felt like it was going to explode. His heart was racing, aching just at the thought of not being next to Rei. The distance between the two of them felt like it was worlds apart; maybe it was. There were so many unanswered questions that only heightened the anxiety coursing throughout Koga’s veins.  
“Tetsu-kun, go run and make some tea. Please.” Hinata says softly. Between Koga’s shaky breaths and trembling sobs he could hear the faint whispering between Hinata and, as he now knew, Tetora. They weren’t quite close enough for him to be able to decipher what they were saying but he was sure they were talking about what a fucking mess he was at the moment.  
Koga attempts to inhale deeply; his lungs not wanting to cooperate causing him to draw in another quivering breath. He wipes his eyes and cheeks on the sleeve of his jacket, listening intently as the pair split off in two directions.  
One set of footsteps lead away from Koga’s position on the mat followed by the sound of an opening door. The other pair of footsteps crept quietly towards him, almost as if they were trying not to startle Koga.  
“Oogami-senpai, it’s me, Hinata. I didn’t mean to startle you... I was just so excited to finally see you after all these years that I-“  
“I don’t need a damn explanation.” Koga says quietly, cutting Hinata off and pulling his knees up to his chest, hugging them tightly as his senses slowly return.  
“Just breathe, okay? Tetsu-kun is making tea to help calm you down. Admittedly he’s not the best at cooking but I reckoned he could manage some tea~ Hajime-kun taught me some of the uses of different types of tea after you graduated. Yuuta-kun’s anxiety got really bad once Sakuma-senpai disappeared and you lost touch with us...” Hinata’s voice was low and solemn, almost as if he were afraid to speak.  
Now that he finally reached a point of being semi-stable, Koga turns his head up and looks at Hinata. The first thing that struck him about his appearance was his height. Koga warily stands up and finds himself face to face with Hinata; in fact, Koga nearly had to look up to him in order to make true eye contact.  
“Holy shit, when did that happen?” Koga says, struggling to keep his voice from wavering but appreciating the attempt to change the subject.  
Hinata smiles proudly, “Hehe~ Yuuta-kun and I both had a growth spurt the summer before our third year!“  
_Good, he took the bait._  
“I’ve been growing out my hair too!! Tetsu-kun recommended I should so I did!! Look!!” Hinata says, his smile beaming as he turns around to show a small ponytail tied low at the back of his head.  
“I like it.” Koga says, a minuscule yet genuine smile creeping slowly onto his lips.  
“Really!? I’m so glad Oogami-senpai!!” Hinata says as he spins around, his eyes sparkling like two dazzling emeralds. Hinata smile fades slowly as his eyes scan Koga’s body.  
“Rough night I’m assuming...” Hinata says in a quiet yet joking tone, his voice trailing off due to his fear of sending Koga into another emotional fit.  
“You have no idea.” Koga says under his breath, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him again.  
“Let’s head upstairs and wait until the tea is ready. While we wait maybe we can talk over everything. It seems a lot has happened in the last 24 hours but at the same time, I haven’t seen you in two years. I’ve missed you...” Koga wasn’t used to this side of Hinata. In fact, the severe lack of enthusiasm and positivity was rather concerning.  
_God I really fucked this kid up didn’t I..._  
Koga nods as a response, the weight of his guilt sitting on top of his chest and preventing him from speaking. Hinata notices his discomfort and gives him a playful shove on the shoulder.  
“Oogami-senpai, come on~! You’re here now! Smile, smile!” Hinata grins from ear to ear and grabs Koga’s wrist, pulling him towards a door on the opposite side of the room. Koga’s body fills with electricity at the touch, remembering last night once again and how Rei had pulled him along the clearing only for Koga to snap at him in a blinded rage.  
He closes his eyes for a moment, trying to clear the thought before becoming trounced in his own emotions yet again. He only opens his eyes once Hinata had stopped holding his wrist and moved to open the door.  
“After you Oogami-senpai~” Hinata says, his voice brimming with excitement as he ushers Koga through the door.  
The pair are met by a narrow staircase leading up to the upper level of the building. Koga looks back at Hinata, who gives him a reassuring nod. Even still, Koga hesitates.  
“Are you sure it’s okay to just barge into Nagumo’s house like this? We didn’t even ask if we could come up.” Koga says, his hand resting on the rail on the wall beside the stairs.  
Hinata’s cheeks flush and a warm smile spreads across his face, “hehe~ it’s actually our house... we live together.”  
Koga raises his eyebrows, the announcement caught him completely off guard.  
“O-oh?” Koga stutters.  
Hinata’s smile grew even more as he looked down to his feet out of embarrassment, “Let’s head upstairs and I’ll tell you everything. Like I said, it’s been a while since we’ve caught up.”  
Koga nods again, quickly scurrying up the staircase. As he nears the entrance to the upstairs area, the calming aroma of lavender floods his senses, helping to relieve whatever anxiety remained within the depths of his mind. At the top of the staircase he pauses briefly for a moment and then enters the room.  
The space itself wasn’t too big. In fact, the studio almost seemed to be divided in half by the door to the staircase. To the right was the small kitchen where Tetora was busy watching a kettle as it slowly aiding in steeping the tea leaves. Next to the kitchen was a small dining table that probably could hold four people at maximum capacity. Koga turns his attention to the left side of the room now. There was a only one bed but seemed to be shared by both Tetora and Hinata. Koga made a small mental note to ask about their relationship status later, his eyes falling on a small table with some sort of display. He takes cautious steps towards it, careful to remember that he was a guest and that this wasn’t his own home.  
On the table there were a vast multitude of items with some sort of nostalgic value. Penlights from Yumenosaki, can badges from 2wink, Ryuseitai, and even a few UNDEAD lives, all of Tetora’s karate belts, an embroidered potholder with the phrase “home is where the heart is” sewn onto it with careful, meticulous stitches.  
_ Kiryu-senpai probably made this for them as a housewarming gift, _ Koga thought to himself.__  
He lifts his eyes up to the wall, admiring the pictures and attempting to fight the longing and desire to return to the past that came alongside them. He reaches out and touches the frame of a picture taken a few weeks before Rei had disappeared. That day for no particular reason the light music club had decided to have the club meeting outside. Koga studies the picture, the details of that day still clear in his mind as if it had happened yesterday. Koga had brought an acoustic guitar from the club room with him because he didn’t want to risk his precious one getting damaged from being outside. The twins begged him to play a song for them for what nearly seemed like an hour until Koga finally obliged and performed a stripped down version of Honey Milk to Taste.  
Despite being in the same unit, Koga noticed that Rei wasn’t singing along but instead was watching Koga with a soft intensity, his lips formed into a smile full of warmth. Koga could still feel those garnet colored eyes sparkling and watching his every movement. For a moment, it seemed as if Rei could see right through Koga directly into his soul. For weeks after, Koga pondered on whether or not Rei had noticed he was singing the song to him, not just to please the twins.  
After the performance Hinata and Yuuta both concluded that a picture was necessary to remember that day. The four of them crowded next to each other and took the picture on Hinata’s phone; everyone was content — things weren’t necessarily easy but life was good.  
Koga wasn’t sure how long he had been reminiscing over the photograph when Hinata approached him with the teacup filled with the lavender tea he had smelt upon arriving in the room.  
“Oh, thank you.” Koga says, quickly snapping out of the trance like state and taking the teacup from Hinata and holding it in his own hands. He takes a generous sip of tea and is instantly comforted by both the heat of the drink and the light floral flavor.  
Hinata looks at the photograph that Koga had been studying and smiles brightly, “things were so much simpler back then.”  
“You’re telling me.” Koga scoffs.  
“C’mon, let’s sit.” Hinata says, nodding his head towards the dining area.  
Koga brings his cup of tea with him and takes a seat across the table from Hinata.  
“Erm, do you just want me to wait downstairs until you two get done talking or…” Tetora says quietly.  
Koga had been so absorbed in his own mind that he had completely forgotten that Tetora was in the room as well.  
Hinata’s eyes sparkle with passion as he responds, “Why don’t you stay with us, babe? I might need emotional support.” He winks with the last part, conveying a slightly joking tone.  
_ Babe, huh? Guess I don’t have to ask after all._  
Tetora takes a seat at the table. It was the first time Koga had gotten a good view of him or really even came into contact with him since arriving. He was more muscular than when Koga last saw him at Yumenosaki, his shoulders were more defined, broad. His hair had also grown a tad longer and was slightly pushed back, vaguely similar to Kuro’s. Overall Koga agreed both he and Hinata had matured into very handsome young men.  
Koga was never good at giving compliments, per se, but he decided it was worth a shot, “I, uh, appreciate ya both being willing to see me on such short notice… I, erm, really like the place ya got goin’ on here.”  
The two younger men smile proudly, “It’s a work in progress and we’ve had a lot of help along the way but,” Hinata pauses briefly to look at Tetora who becomes a tad flustered, “it’s our home and I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.”  
Tetora scratches his forehead out of embarrassment, “We really couldn’t a done with without everyone at Yumenosaki. Hinata-kun and Yuuta-kun did so many extra street performances, Ryuseitai hosted a few reunion lives to raise money, even Taishou got everyone from Akatsuki together to raise money and it was all just so I can live out my dream with the person that I love most.” Tetora says, returning the glance to Hinata.  
Koga smiles softly to himself. There was something so pure about their love — it was like fallen sakura blossoms caught in the wind or a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, untouched by the harshness of the world. It was uncontaminated, clean. It was true.  
“Anyways, enough about us,” Hinata says, “I’m so sorry Yuuta-kun couldn’t make it. He… wasn’t the happiest that you called if you couldn’t already tell…”  
Koga’s stomach drops a bit, “How has he been?”  
Hinata shrugs, “I touched on it earlier but, he’s had fairly bad anxiety ever since you and Sakuma-senpai y’know…” his voice fades briefly and he takes a sip of tea, his voice coming back stronger and a bit bubblier, “I go by his place and check on him every day though. He may live by himself right now but we’re still twins after all — especially as his big brother, I've gotta keep an eye out for him~”  
Koga nods his head, unable to think of a response right away. He could tell there was something Hinata wanted to ask by the way he was anxiously stirring his spoon around his tea cup.  
_Ah, what the hell. Might as well get it over with._  
“So, the whole reason I’m here.” Koga starts, his eyes focused on Hinata’s trance-like stirring.  
Tetora reaches for Hinata’s hand and removes his grasp from the spoon, holding his hand in his own gently on the tabletop.  
“I-I’m still not quite sure what it was but…” he takes a second to recall the events of the previous night, “last night was the three year anniversary of Sakuma-sen- erm, the bastard’s disappearance and I… wasn’t taking it too well.”  
Koga’s history of having severe issues expressing his emotions was beginning to creep up onto him now. He looks to Hinata for reassurance and is comforted when both he and Tetora give a supportive nod that encourages him to continue.  
“I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t even bother trying. So I went out for a walk to, y’know, get some fresh air and clear my head. Suddenly I was … lured in by this scent… See, I’ve always had this real sharp sense of smell, ’t makes me super sensitive to ‘em. Well anyways I smelt somethin’ and I just had to follow it. It was so familiar and made me feel so… happy. So I followed it and it led me to this huge ass tree in the middle of the woods and the second I arrived at the tree I got super exhausted and I just fell asleep against it.”  
Koga checks in on them to make sure they were both paying attention and sure enough, both of them were listening intently with eyes wide. However there was something about Tetora’s expression that slightly threw Koga off; his eyebrows were furrowed slightly as if he were deep in thought.  
Koga disregarded it and moved on with his recollection, “I just want to make sure ya know I’ve never touched a drug in my life and at the time I hadn’t had a single sip of alcohol and I swear on my life that everythin’ I’m about to tell ya really did happen,” both of the boys nod their heads in understanding, “When I woke up, or at least I thought I did, I started tryin’ to find my way home because as far as I knew I was lost in the woods. So I was walkin’ through the forest and it was really quiet and peaceful and all that. While I’m walkin’ I start hearing this singing..? So I go to investigate and god I didn’t even have to see him to know it was him. I heard his voice and I just knew. I felt it in my soul that it was him.”  
Koga felt the emotions starting to build again but he pushed through and continued to speak, “I didn’t even get a chance to look at him because he hugged me and held me so close, the same way you did Hinata. That’s why I had that … episode… earlier. You felt like him and I just wasn’t strong enough…”  
At this point, his emotions were starting to peak. Tears began brimming the edges of his eyes but he couldn’t stop talking. He couldn’t even control it at this point. The words just fell out of his mouth like some kind of poignant word vomit, “He finally let go of me and I got a good look at him and he just looked so different… he was obviously the same person but he had these dumb elf ears and actual fangs. It didn’t necessarily look bad; it was just… not what I was expecting after three years. Anyways… he tried to take me somewhere but I was a fuckin’ dumbass and I got upset with him and it just wasted so much time. When I woke up and he wasn’t there I was just so confused and I...”  
Koga stops speaking. He wasn’t sure when the tears had started but they were flowing freely down his cheeks now. _ Why the fuck did I have to get upset with him? I could’ve figured out so much and spent more time with him. You fucking dumbass!_  
“Koga-senpai?” Tetora says, breaking Koga’s self belittlement.  
Koga wipes his eyes quickly and looks at him, not even bothered by the fact that he had cried in front of the two of them not just once, but twice.  
“I don’t think you’re crazy,” Tetora starts, “I really don’t. In fact, I believe you completely.”  
For some reason, that little bit of validation helped Koga come back to his senses a tiny bit. By now his lavender tea was cold but he still chugged the rest of it in hopes that it’d do something for his nerves.  
Tetora continued his statement, “Taishou used to tell me lots of stories in our free time because he wanted to practice telling them to me before telling them to his sister. There was this one story called “The Elder Tree” and it sounds nearly identical to what you’re going through.”  
Koga leans forward towards him to show his interest.  
Tetora picks up on his gesture and continues to elaborate, “Basically, legend has it that there’s this humongous tree in the middle of the forest that has all of these fancy carvings on them. However, only people gifted with The Sight can see the carvings. To normal people, it looks like your average tree but to those who have The Sight, they can see the tree in all of its glory. But not only can they see it, they have the ability to use the tree as some sort of portal to an alternate universe.”  
“That sounds exactly like what’s going on with Oogami-senpai!” Hinata expresses.  
Tetora nods his head but frowns, “Here’s the thing… there’s a timeline of how long someone has The Sight. Once you’ve been gifted with it, you only have 12 days to utilize it and then you lose contact with the other universe.”  
Koga’s heart drops through the floor.  
_ No._  
He stands up quickly, checking to make sure he didn’t leave anything.  
“I can’t have only 12 days with him it’s not enough time!” Koga shouts.  
“Oogami-senpai, please calm dow- where are you going?” Hinata says frantically.  
“I’ve gotta get to that damn tree.” Koga says heading swiftly towards the door to the staircase.  
“Koga-senpai, the portal doesn’t open until sunset. It’s barely past midday. Stay with us until then. Please.” Tetora says calmly.  
_ Shit._  
Koga looks at the two and shakes his head, “I need to go. Now. I promise I’ll come back tomorrow and explain everything that happens.”  
Without waiting for a response, Koga dashes down the stairs, across the blue mat, throws his shoes back on and sprints out the door — the crystalline chime of the bell resonating in his ears the entirety of the sprint back to the elder tree.


	3. Chapter 3

Koga’s lungs were on fire. Each inhale caused a stabbing pain in his stomach that felt as if he had inhaled glass. His legs screamed at him to take a break. His head felt like it was going to explode with each frantic step he made.  
But he couldn’t stop running. He wouldn’t allow himself to.  
_ Twelve- no, eleven days. That’s all I have. You disappear for three fucking years and can’t even give me two FUCKING weeks.___  
Koga was blinded by anger yet driven by anticipation. Every careless step was aiding in the shut down of his body. Koga couldn’t recall the last time he had exercised this intensely and the fact that he hadn’t eaten in over twenty four hours really was not benefiting him.  
Leafy branches morph into stark canvases of green as Koga forces himself deeper into the forest.  
He knew he had to be approaching the tree. He had to make it there before his body physically wouldn’t let him.  
Koga stumbles over a branch hidden in the undergrowth but somehow manages to regain his balance and keep running. His pace was significantly slower now, his aching limbs refusing to let him push himself to the edge any longer.  
He lifts his head warily and scans his surroundings, releasing an audible sigh of relief once his rapidly fading vision focused on the elder tree less than 100 yards away. Koga stumbles over his own feet as he desperately fights to make it to the tree.  
_ I can’t come this far and give up. It’s not an option. ___  
Koga’s vision was fading fast, the outer edges of his sight being consumed by blackness as tunnel vision sets in. His head was spinning at a rate that made his racing heartbeat audible within the depths of his mind.  
_ J-Just a bit more…___  
Koga trips over his feet again and falls to the ground, landing on his arm in an awkwardly twisted position. Sharp pain shoots up and down the length of his arm and causes Koga to scream a slew of curse words into the air. He lies on the ground for a moment, the radiating pain from every fiber of his body consuming him wholly. Slowly, he turns his head to look at the elder tree that was a mere few meters away. He exhales and forces himself to stand up.  
He clutches his arm as the agonizing pain continues to radiate from the limb and amplify the aching that coursed throughout his entire body. Koga had no idea as to whether or not his arm was broken but whatever he did to it, something was drastically wrong.  
Koga drags his feet along the ground, his legs now completely refusing to cooperate with him. He attempts to keep his wounded arm as still as possible but even the slightest movement that came as a byproduct of walking sent piercing stings of pain from the epicenter of the injury. He curses loudly again and looks at the elder tree which was only three or four meters in front of him now.  
Its ornate carvings and markings made him feel as though it were mocking him; there was a distinct difference between his crippled and broken self and the pristine cleanliness of the tree.  
_ That’s the difference between my reality and his reality, I guess._  
Koga was disgusted with himself. There he was, standing in the middle of the woods in excruciating pain with no one around to help him and still the only thing he could think about was that bastard and the stupid fucking tree.  
At this point Koga’s vision had nearly completely disappeared and he had become extremely lightheaded. He knew he was going to pass out within the next few seconds. Koga pushes with the last minuscule bit of energy he had left to close the distance between himself and the tree. The second he made contact with the bark he attempted to sit down and lean against the tree for support. Despite how carefully he had planned his movements, Koga still ends up losing his footing and falls to the ground with a heavy thud. Another stabbing pain surges through his arm as he rests his weakened and frail body against the tree, admiring what little he could see of the sky and the bright sunlight before his vision was entirely consumed by darkness.

_ _ _ _***_ _ _ _

__ __ __ When Koga came back to his senses, the world was hazy and everything seemed to move with a distorted filter over it. His brain registered his surroundings in various blurs of blue, green, and browns. Although Koga could tell he was moving by the delayed images of the trees surrounding him, his body felt like it was suspended in the cool air that inflated his lungs with each shallow breath. Koga turns his head to the other side and inhales sharply.  
“S-Sakuma...senpai…” he murmurs weakly, unsure if his words were even coherent.  
Realizing now that Rei was carrying him, Koga’s senses began to come back to him rapidly. He swiftly became aware of the intense throbbing diverging from his wounded arm. Koga releases a low whimper out of pain that cause Rei’s face to contort into an expression of extreme concern.  
“Just a bit further, dear.” Rei says as he adjusts his grip under Koga’s legs and upper back, giving a quiet grunt as he struggles to manage Koga’s weight.  
Koga’s face flushes a healthy shade of pink after being called the stupid nickname, his cheeks portraying a warmth that temporarily distracted him from the pain. Still, the euphoria of the name was short lived and brought to a screeching halt the second Rei adjusted his grip the wrong way and accidentally pushed on Koga’s bad arm.  
“Fuckin’ hell!!” Koga exclaims, obviously scaring Rei who had ceased all movement the second Koga relayed the profanities.  
Rei raises his eyebrows out of a mixture of shock and fear. He shakes his head rapidly, his expression becoming more and more worried with each word, “K-Koga I’m s-so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you-”  
Koga closes his eyes and grits his teeth, “Put me down. I’ll walk.”  
Rei is silent for a moment and then speaks. “I’m sorry but I can’t let you do that, Koga. You’re in horrible shape and I can’t let you get hurt more than you already are.” Rei says, blinking quickly.  
_ Was he tearing up? Does the bastard really feel that fuckin’ bad?_  
Koga studies Rei’s face, admiring how radiant and… perfect he is. He locks eyes with Rei for no more than a second before turning away out of embarrassment.  
“Where are you takin’ me anyway you bastard.” Koga says, trying his best to ignore the acute pain is his arm by using his bluntness as a defense mechanism.  
Rei smiles softly and begins to walk again, Koga still cradled safely in his arms, “Home.”  
“Stop bein’ so cryptic ya bastard. What do ya mean by that.” Koga scoffs, his eyes still averted from Rei’s steady gaze and now focused on his wounded arm.  
From what he could see, it didn’t appear to be terribly broken, if at all. However, Koga knew that fractures aren’t always necessarily visible from the surface. His jacket, which was now covered in dirt and various other materials found on the forest floor, did an amazing job at hiding the true extremity of the injury from his view. Koga didn’t even want to think of what his arm could possibly look like underneath that thin fabric.  
Rei chuckles quietly, “You’re back to calling me a bastard, hm?”  
Koga furrows his eyebrows and looks up at Rei again, “Well, it’s what you are — a bastard. Now let me down, you piece of shit. I can walk the rest of the way.”  
Rei disregards the last part and pulls Koga closer to him, careful not to disturb his arm this time, “You didn’t think I was such a bastard when you first came back to your senses, Wanko.”  
Koga sneers, silently cursing at himself for throwing around Rei’s name so carelessly, “It was just because I was disoriented. I still am. Hell, as far as I know this could all be a dream and I could still be passed out cold on the damn forest floor right now.”  
Rei smirks and parts his lips slightly, “Kukuku~ you’re not dreaming, Wanko. However, you haven’t completely crossed over yet.”  
Koga focuses on Rei’s still parted lips, cursing silently at himself again for getting so distracted by the bastard’s appearance once again, “I thought I told ya to stop bein’ so damn cryptic.”  
“I’ll explain everything in a moment, Wanko. We’re almost home.” Rei says.  
He nods his head forward as if he were pointing towards something. Koga follows the direction of Rei’s nod, his head spinning from turning too quickly. He takes a moment to let his vision reconcile with his mind before his eyes settle on the small cabin-like house in front of him.  
“This where you live?” Koga says, noticing the small grove of healthy tomato bushes located to the side of the house.  
Rei smiles softly and nods. His expression is warm and content; it was one that captivates Koga’s mind and erases every single negative thought momentarily. Koga’s face relaxes and a gentle smile creeps itself onto his lips.  
“I’ll have to put you down now, Wanko. Will you be able to stand?” Rei says, noting Koga’s smile but not speaking anything of it.  
Koga doesn’t verbally respond; instead he nods his head and allows Rei to place his feet on the ground. Rei maneuvers Koga’s body slowly, each of his movements articulate and pre-planned to avoid injuring him further. Once Koga was standing firmly on the ground, he wraps his good arm around Rei’s broad shoulders to steady himself.  
“Be careful with your arm. I don’t want you to injure yourself further.” Rei says, eyeing Koga as if he were a father looking out for his child.  
Koga gives an unsettled grunt, “Don’t look at me like that, ya bastard.” He focuses his attention on his injured arm. At this point it was barely radiating any pain and felt more like a bee sting than the immense, agonizing pain he had felt just minutes ago, “Besides, my arm doesn't even hurt that much anymore. I told you I was fine-“  
Rei’s face drops into a look of sheer terror. He removes Koga’s uninjured arm from around his shoulders and holds on tightly to his wrist. He opens the door frantically, pulling Koga through the door without a single word.  
“O-Oi! What the fuck do ya think you’re doin?!” Koga shouts as he stumbles behind Rei.  
The inside of Rei’s cabin was dark, small, and cold but not to the point where it was uncomfortable. Koga barely has any time to adapt to his surroundings before Rei pulls him through another door and into a nearly pitch black room. Rei lets go of Koga’s hand momentarily and snaps his fingers. The soft glow of a small flame illuminates the tip of his finger.  
Koga’s stomach lurches, “W-what the fuck? How’d you-“  
Rei disregards Koga and blows on the flame. Instead of dwindling, the flame grows stronger and more powerful. The radiant amber glow from the flame allows Koga to see Rei’s face once again. His expression was still plagued with worry yet there seemed to be an edge of determination amongst his slightly furrowed brows. Rei flicks his wrist in a motion similar to how Koga would throw frisbee for Leon and the flame jumps from its resting point on his fingers and begins to stream around the room. It advances through the air as radiant ball of flames, twinkling and flickering while lighting multiple candles that were attached to the walls. After circling the outskirts of the room, the small sphere of fire returns back to its home on the tip of Rei’s finger. He shakes his hand swiftly, dismissing the flame.  
Koga was speechless. He was scared by the power emitting from Rei’s body. This wasn’t the feeble boy he had grown so close to in high school. This was a monster.  
Koga’s breath was stuck in his throat; he felt as though he was drowning yet there was no way for him to scream for help. He wanted to speak- no, he wanted to scream, yet every effort he made to resulted in a deathly silence. Koga studies Rei’s characteristics that were emphasized in the dim candlelight. His hair was down today, flowing down to his shoulders in thick ebony waves. His elf-like ears were peeking out of his hair slightly, the contrast between his pale skin and dark hair emphasizing their abnormality. However it was Rei’s eyes that were causing Koga the extreme discomfort and anxiety he felt in the pit of his stomach. His crimson irises were resonating an anomalous red gleam. It was different than the glow he saw in them the previous night. It was severely unnatural, evil, and to Koga — it was terrifying.  
Koga tries to divert his attention from them but it was impossible. Rei says something but Koga doesn’t process a single word he says. It wasn’t until Rei places his hand on Koga’s shirt that he came back to his senses.  
“Get your fucking hands off of me!” Koga screams, stumbling backwards and away from Rei’s grasp. Koga fights to catch his breath — he hadn’t realized he had been holding it the entire time.  
Rei looks at him, his face twisted in shock and confusion, “Wanko, I’m just trying to help you and I need to move quickly before you completely cross over.”  
Koga shakes his head violently, continuing to edge himself backwards until his back was flush with the wall, “Nothing you’re fucking saying makes any sense! What do you mean by cross over?! And where did that fucking fire come from?! I don’t even know who the fuck you are anymore and you expect me to trust you?!”  
Rei clutches onto the edge of his sleeve, balling the material into his fist. Koga could tell he was trying with all of his might to bite his tongue and not retort back with a response. He knew he should stop before things escalated but the anger and confusion that had been building inside of him since first meeting Rei the night before was finally reaching its peak.  
“You left me stranded, Sakuma-senpai! For three years I was alone! Isolated! Completely by myself because I was the ONLY one who was determined to not give up on looking for you!” Koga was screaming now, his voice resonating against the walls of the small room, “You left the twins to suffer! You left UNDEAD to suffer! You left ME to suffer, you piece of shit! I spent so many sleepless nights, no, EVERY fucking night worrying about if you were fucking dead just to find out that you’ve been living in some fantasy world that you get to control and live your best damn life!”  
The second the words left Koga’s mouth, Rei’s expression shifts into one of pure anger. The candles on the walls blaze with a new level of intensity — one that made Koga realize the depth of Rei’s rage. His eyes were a flaming red, fueled by the indignation of Koga’s words.  
Rei storms over to Koga, cornering him between his body and the wall. Rei was so close to him that Koga could practically feel the fury radiating off of his body in waves, “Do you really think a world without you in it is one that I would voluntarily choose to live in, Koga.”  
Koga’s entire being froze. His onslaught of harsh words brought to a screeching halt by the icy tone in Rei’s voice.  
“I-I didn’t-“ Koga stammers, completely unable to form a coherent sentence.  
“Y’know, it really fucking breaks my heart that you think I haven’t been thinking about you every single second of every single day since I ended up here.” Rei’s voice was jarring. Each word launched a barrage of attacks on Koga, making him feel buried beneath the weight of his own guilt.  
“Do you think it was EASY for me to leave you again?! Leaving you the first time was hard enough and I knew I would be back. How do you fucking think I felt leaving when I knew there was a possibility of NEVER seeing you again?!” His voice was increasing in volume now, the candles around the room growing immensely brighter as the intensity in his voice grew more powerful.  
He stoops down slightly, aligning his face to be parallel with Koga’s, “Do you remember what I said during the Repayment Festival?” He doesn’t give Koga an opportunity to answer, “How, ‘separating myself from the adorable Koga was more painful and agonizing than tearing my own body apart?’ I fucking meant it.”  
Each word struck Koga like an icy stake to the heart.  
“In fact, sometimes I really fucking wish I would’ve died instead of coming here. Watching YOU suffer every single day because of something I did? It killed me. Even if I was alive, I didn’t feel like it. I couldn’t feel anything aside from the constant suffering that abandoning you left me with.” Rei says, taking a step away from Koga.  
“I don’t ever want to fucking hear you say that I’m so called ‘living my best life’ here again, is that understood? Quite frankly a world without you in it is one that isn’t worth living. If I COULD die, you can guarantee I would’ve the second I found out what this universe had in store for me.” Rei says forbiddingly.  
Koga nods quickly, his eyes wide out of fear.  
“I’m glad you understand. Now, take off your jacket and let me see your fucking arm.” Rei says. With this the height of the candles’ flames returned to their normal state, flickering silently and casting long shadows upon the wall.  
Koga still doesn’t speak yet takes off the outer layer of clothing. His arm was extremely swollen and marbled with varying shades of blue and purple.  
Rei sighs and takes the arm in his hands, moving it around gently. Koga relays a small whimper of pain once Rei bends the wounded limb too much in one direction. The pain wasn’t immense but it was there, that’s all that mattered to Rei.  
“You haven’t completely crossed over yet but we’re running low on time before you do. I’ll have to work quickly.” Rei says ushering Koga towards the coffin pressed against the wall.  
Koga doesn’t object nor does he question anything Rei was doing. He figured it’d be best to remain quiet and not challenge Rei further after the brief quarrel. Koga seats himself comfortably in the coffin, Rei’s scent overwhelming his senses and helping to calm his nerves.  
“You’re not going to like this but I have to do it. Don’t refuse it because it’ll just make it hurt more than it already will.” Rei says, placing his hands gently on Koga’s head and mercifully craning it to expose the tender skin of his neck.  
Koga’s eyes widen at the realization of what Rei was about to do. He shakes his head violently to release himself from Rei’s grip, “You fucking bastard! I fucking KNOW you’re not about to drink my blood you sick fuck.”  
Rei releases an irritated sigh, “Koga, you’re not completely a part of my world yet which means I cannot control you right now. That’s why I need a sample of your blood. With that I can gain temporary access to you and fix your arm before you have to resort to your own methods in the real world.”  
Koga was still confused but didn’t disrupt Rei since this was the closest he had come to getting any sort of answers from the bastard.  
“I let you transfer here too early. I shouldn’t have opened the portal but you were so weak and I just… couldn’t leave you there by yourself until dark…” Rei’s voice slowly fades but he quickly resumes where he fell off, “When the portal opens naturally at sundown you’re able to teleport, per se, instantaneously. However, since you arrived here when the portal was forced open, your body is slowly ‘loading in’ from the real world to here. That’s why you felt so much pain when you first arrived; you were feeling the pain you would be feeling in your world. If I can mend your arm before you completely transfer over then by the time you return to your world it should be healed completely and you won’t have to go through the entire healing process.”  
Koga takes a deep breath, “It still doesn’t make complete sense but ya could’ve said that from the beginning ya know…” he takes a moment to think but doesn’t waste too much time considering he could feel the pain quickly draining from his arm.  
“Fuck it.” Koga says, tilting his head to expose the delicate skin on his neck once again.  
“Here,” Rei says, extending his hand towards Koga, “it might hurt so you can hold my hand if you need to.”  
Koga scoffs, “I’m not a baby. I’ll be fine.”  
Rei doesn’t comment and instead runs his thumb along Koga’s neck. The touch sends chills tingling along Koga’s spine, causing him to shiver slightly as a response. Rei lowers his face, his lips lingering just above Koga’s skin. Koga felt the anticipation eating away at him but for some reason he felt as though Rei was doing it on purpose.  
Rei places his lips delicately on Koga’s neck. The second he made contact with his skin the candles that illuminated the room burned the brightest they had all night. Even though he couldn’t see his face, Koga could feel Rei’s smile against his skin.  
Koga knew Rei felt it too. That connection. The electricity of emotion that coursed through the air in the room, causing the flames of the candles to dance and burn with the strength of a thousand suns.  
When Rei finally bit into the tender flesh, Koga’s body was so overwhelmed by ecstasy that he barely flinched from the pain. From what he could tell, Rei drank for no more than a few seconds before pulling away and wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve. Upon breaking contact with Koga, the candles slowly retract back down to their previous dim states, once again flickering silently.  
“Put pressure on the wound.” Rei says to Koga, not mentioning anything about what had just happened between the two of them.  
There was a lingering note of awkwardness in the air that made itself more and more noticeable with each passing second. Rei leaves the room momentarily and returns shortly with a piece of cloth, “Here, so your hands don’t get covered in blood.”  
“T-Thank you.” Koga stutters, pressing the piece of cloth firmly against the puncture wounds to stop whatever bleeding was occurring. Koga’s head was spinning at a thousand miles an hour trying to process everything that had occurred. His mind was fuzzy and he felt fairly light headed from the blood loss yet none of those things mattered. More than anything he craved, no, desired to feel Rei’s lips on his skin again.  
He looks at Rei, who had already began to rub Koga’s injured limb with some sort of herbal salve he had grabbed when he left the room.  
“Are we not gonna talk about what just happened?” Koga says bluntly. He watches Rei’s face intently, waiting for any sort of change in emotion yet is disappointed when it remains exactly the same.  
“Koga, I need to focus right now. If I set your arm wrong then I can cause more damage and I really don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.” Rei says, refusing to make eye contact with Koga.  
Rei sighs, “This is going to be excruciatingly painful Koga, I need to reset and mend your bone because you’ve got a nasty fracture. However, I can put you to sleep and you won’t feel-“  
“No! No… I don’t want to go to sleep… I’m not ready to go back yet.” Koga says, cursing himself for being so transparent with his emotions.  
“Kukuku,” Rei chuckles, “there’s no need to fret, Koga. You won’t go back to your world yet. The night is just about to set in there, you’ll still have a bit more time left with me once you wake up. However, you need to make your decision now or else I won’t be able to fix you in time.”  
Koga nods his head and settles himself all the way into Rei’s coffin. Rei smiles at him, reaching down to run his fingers through Koga’s hair. Although the act was small it made Koga’s heart skip a beat.  
Koga closes his eyes, easily submitting to their sudden weight. Koga was unsure how comfortable he felt about Rei being able to “control” him and such but nevertheless, it was too late for him to change his mind now.  
Rei mumbles something inaudible but before Koga could find the energy to ask what he had said, he falls into a heavy, dreamless sleep enveloped in the comforting scent of Rei’s scent and the soft glimmer of candlelight. 


End file.
